Calm down dear: Sexism in the Commons is rife as ANOTHER female MP steps down

IT was just a moment amid the melee of the gladiatorial arena that is the main chamber of the House of Commons last week, but it spoke volumes.

Was Jessica Lee driven out of politics by the (male) beasts of Westminster? [JESSICA LEE]

Lynn Featherstone, the accomplished International Development Minister, did not hear the Speaker direct her to give way so, from across the floor, a Labour stalwart boomed: “Get a hearing aid!”

With a fourth woman MP deciding to step down last week and the sexual controversies that surround both Lord Rennard and Mike Hancock gathering steam, few can doubt that the Westminster village and its ­various political outbuildings still present forbidding territory for many of the 147 women MPs who serve there.

Often it comes from older generations but it doesn’t distinguish between class.

As one MP said last night: “There are some older Labour MPs, the die-hard trade unionists, who don’t even acknowledge a woman when they see her. There are those on the other side of the house who open doors and are charming but who still don’t take you seriously.”

The problem is not that the Palace of Westminster is some den of inappropriate groping but that, despite the advances in equality to have come from within these walls, women still have to adhere to a different standard. Sexism in Parliament, members say, is less overt and often unintentional and women are still punished by an unforgiving job that takes little account of family life.

While some MPs whispered that the comment directed towards Ms Featherstone would never have been levelled at a man, it was certainly a minor infringement when compared with other examples.

Even the Prime Minster has been tempted by the urge to regress to schoolboy humour. He told Labour MP Angela Eagle to “calm down, dear” in 2011 and earned the approving guffaws of many. Just a few months later, his toying with the phrase “extreme frustration” when directing a comment to Nadine Dorries brought the House down and left the MP feeling “humiliated in front of the entire nation in a way that I knew would be perceived as sexist”.

The advice given to Meg Hillier, Labour MP for Hackney South and Shoreditch, by a well-meaning colleague in 2005, could well have been made 30 years earlier. “An officer of the House told me, ‘remember the older MPs will treat you either as their secretary, their daughter or their mistress’,” she said last night.

“You would not put up with that in another working environment but I decided I would not get high and mighty about it. Frankly there are bigger battles to fight.”

Tory MP Priti Patel says women who go into politics know what the score is [PH]

There are some older Labour MPs, the die-hard trade unionists, who don’t even acknowledge a woman when they see her

An MP

Ms Hillier was a Home Office minister and supposed to be on maternity leave in 2009 when she was approached by a whip who wanted to know why she was not in the chamber voting and exactly how many weeks previously she had given birth.

“I was postnatal,” she said. “I did not want to get into it in the middle of the tearoom. Luckily my colleague jumped in. After that, Tory women MPs came up to me and said he had behaved outrageously. I got a lot of support.”

Others point to double standards. Shadow Attorney General Emily Thornberry said: “Most people still see politicians as white, slightly overweight and male.

“I was a barrister before I became an MP and I was used to a tough, male-dominated environment. What surprised me when I became an MP was the amount of comments about my weight and appearance. Men are not given the same scrutiny. There will be as much talk on Twitter about the colour of your jacket or your hair as what you say. It is frustrating.

“The media are partly to blame, just look at the language. When they ask who are the big beasts of Westminster, how can that possibly include women?”

Tory MP Jessica Lee cited “personal circumstances and responsibilities” when she announced on Monday that she would step down from her seat in Erewash, Derbyshire, next year. She is the fourth woman to have been elected in 2010 to have decided one term is enough.

Women colleagues say some new MPs, particularly those head-hunted from the private sector, were simply not prepared for the disruption to their lives. Tessa Munt, Lib Dem MP for Wells, Somerset, said: “What I see is women who might not have known or considered what it was that they were taking on.

“It happened with the Blair babes in 1997. It is a terrible shame because it is clear to me that those women may not have had a good idea about what the job was about. It is a serious job, not a trophy one.”

Priti Patel, Tory MP for Witham, Essex, said: “Though I’ve been a grassroots activist for more than 20 years, I also come from a business background. I’m pretty tough. Women who go into politics have to know what the score is – the hours, the two locations and the nature of the work we do. I’d like prospective MPs to come and spend some time with us, see the volume of case work and how we manage the balance between working in Westminster, the constituency and also family life.”

Psychologist Professor Cary Cooper, of Lancaster University, says Westminster will change only when there are more women in both chambers. “It is still a male bastion and it is made worse because it is also an enclosed culture,” he said.

“The public does not appreciate how stressful a job being an MP is. They have multiple constituents, voters, their party, the media and, despite recent changes, it still means long hours. It is penal for women.

“Ironically, those whose constituencies are further away know they cannot go home if their child is performing in a school play but those living closer always have the guilt. They tend to suffer more stress.

“Inevitably, you are going to get problems with sexual relations, with people misreading cues.

“More women would give Westminster a different culture. Women tend to have a style that is less combative, more conciliatory and cooperative. It is about getting women in there who have good coping skills.

“Having a thick skin does not mean being aggressive. Until we get greater parity, however, I am afraid they will have to be resilient.”